On reserve child care facility at Whitecap Dakota First Nation

56 children from 6 weeks to 5 years old will get a chance to embrace the outdoors through a new child care facility at the Whitecap Dakota First Nation.The early learning centre, operated by both the First Nation and Preston Early Learning, will be located by both Whitecap's elementary schiool and a regional health centre.Executive Director of Preston Early Learning Lisa Leibel says kids in the program will be outside more often than in other child care centres. She says kids will be doing a number of outdoor activities, whether it's building a shelter or learning about natural habitats.Leibel says there will be indoor learning, but the focus will also be towards the outdoors, and fueling the interests of children in the program. For example, she says for a student who had an interest in bugs, "we would provide them with different examples of how they could explore their interest, maybe creating habitats for them."She says Whitecap is a "perfect backdrop" for extending children's play outside.Leibel says the provincial and federal governments will be providing funding for the on reserve program, which she says is a first.The first group in the program begins their learning September 1st.